Friday, July 11, 2008

This is the beautiful story of the story behind President Eisenhower's Rolex Datejust. If you want to hear this great story please listen to the Podcast in Part 6 of this story, or click here.

This is a story of two American soldiers who met in London, England during World War II; one a General and one a Sergeant that both grew up on American Farms. After World War II they moved to Paris, then they both moved into the White House in Washington D.C. together. It is a story about friendship, loyalty, and two families that became one. It is a story about two gentlemen who took excellent care of each other.

Master Sergeant Moaney is pictured on the left in the Oval Office with President Eisenhower in the 1950s. Master Sergeant Moaney became President Eisenhower's valet in England in 1942 and stayed Ike's valet until Eisenhower died in 1969. That is a statue of Abraham Lincoln behind Sergeant Moaney in the Oval Office. Abraham Lincoln was Dwight Eisenhower's favorite U.S. President and Role Model.

When President Eisenhower died, he left his beloved Yellow Gold Rolex Jubilee to his close friend and valet, Master Sergeant John Moaney.

Sergeant Moaney met and married Dolores Moaney, who was Eisenhower's cook in 1946. Dolores remained Eisenhower's cook until Eisenhower died in 1969. Eisenhower loved barbecuing steaks and he is pictured below with Master Sergeant Moaney manning the grill.

Dwight Eisenhower wrote a book and said "Master Sergeant Moaney is a man that has been indispensable to me."

Sergeant Moaney and President Eisenhower were like two peas in a pod and were always together.

Dwight Eisenhower is pictured sitting next to Sergeant Moaney at Augusta, during the very famous Masters golf tournament. The man on the far right is Clifford Brooks, the Chairman of Augusta and best friend of the legendary golfer, Bobby Jones.

After Sergeant Moaney died, his wife Delores missed him terribly. Delores met presidential historian, Raleigh DeGeer Amyx and he took the photo below of Delores who was Eisenhower's lifelong cook.

Delores is holding Eisenhower's binoculars (pictured above and below) and is wearing his beloved Rolex Datejust which was the 150,000th Officially Certified Swiss Rolex Chronometer that Rolex gave to Eisenhower as a token of their appreciation for all of his superb achievements.

Twenty five years ago, Dolores was so impressed with Raleigh DeGeer Amyx's Presidential artifacts collection that she decided to give these items to Raleigh as a token of her appreciation for his superb achievements.

Dwight Eisenhower's World War II leather bomber jacket and binoculars are pictured above with Ike's 4 Stars on the shoulders and is part of the Amyx Presidential Collection.

Eisenhower really enjoyed painting and painted the oil-painting above of his home in London during World War II and gave it as a gift to Master Sergeant John Moaney in 1949.

On the Eisenhowers painting above the photo of Ike Painting, Eisenhower wrote on the back in pencil, as seen below: "Telegraph Cottage-small house south of London where I lived while planning both Torch (1942) and Overlord (1944)."

Operation Torch was the codeword for the Invasion of North Africa and Operation Overlordwas the codeword for the D-Day invasion of Normandy France.

President Dwight Eisenhower clearly loved Master Sergeant John Moaney very much as you can read in his writing, and Moaney very much loved Eisenhower.

The photo above is of the beautiful tool-chest that Master Sergeant John Moaney made in the White House Cabinet Shop as a Christmas gift in 1959 for his best friend and President, Dwight Eisenhower.

Dwight Eisenhower's Grandson David married Richard Nixon's daughter Julie and Mrs. Moaney stayed with the family to cook great meals for them. When Richard Nixon was running for President of the United States, he traveled to visit the Moaney's because he knew how much they meant to Dwight Eisenhower, who was in the hospital at the time. The Moaney's were not like family to the Eisenhower's and Nixon's–they were family.

After President Eisenhower passed away, Mrs. Eisenhower missed him terribly and she included this letter to Sergeant Moaney with this never before seen photo of Ike above from the Amyx Presidential Collection.

In Part 8 we will learn about Lyndon Johnson's Rolex Day-Date with the President Bracelet and his relationship with Eisenhower and Kennedy.

San Francisco, California

INSIDE ROLEX

Historically Rolex has always been extremely secretive and discreet, and no journalists in the past have ever been invited "INSIDE ROLEX" to explore and report on all four Rolex Manufacturing faclities in Switzerland.

In November 2013, this changed when Rolex invited Jake to take an unprecdented journey into the heart of Rolex to learn and report on everything he witnessed and learned.

This Super-Detailed 3 Part Story is a "MUST READ" story for anybody who wants to understand what really makes Rolex tick.

The Hans Wilsdorf Story: Founder Of Rolex

Rolex is one of the most recognizable brands on earth, but very little has been known about its real history. If you really, really want to understand what makes Rolex tick, I very highly recommend you read the fascinating story of Rolex's amazing founder–Hans Wilsdorf.

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